Phil to Iron

Wednesday, 24 December 2014

After the Mourne Ultra run on 6th June 2014 I was very
pleased on being able to complete such a long distance and also bearing in mind
running on trails and elevation ups and downs.

After this I gained the confidence to enter a longer
distance that of the Titanic 102k 7th September 2014. This event was also run from
organisers 26 Extreme. It started in 2012, 100 yrs after the titanic sunk and it
was the inaugural 100k race. Also the twist being each year after the first year,
they add another 1 k to it. So in 2014 it was 102k.

I knew that moving from 52 miles in the Mourne Ultra to 63
miles total in this event would be obviously tougher because it was longer, but
from speaking to people that had done the run beforehand, I knew it obviously
would be alot flatter thankfully. A friend Martin I knew from races had said he
preferred the Mourne ultra because you went up and down a lot you got a chance
to work different muscles, whereas if you ran on flat course most of the time
it becomes extremely repetitive and wearing on same muscles. With that in mind
I tried to focus on the fact that in plain terms, flat is easier and hopefully
an extra 11 miles shouldn’t be too tough distance wise.

After resting after the Mourne Ultra, I re-focused on a
running plan with regular long runs at weekends and back to backs as usual when
I could. My first memorable good long run post the Mournes was the weekend of the
12th July. I ran from Newcastle and in the morning there were hundreds of folk
getting ready for the big 12th celebrations. It was kind of surreal seeing all
these folk dressed up and me with my bouncy water bottles and sweaty face
running through the crowds. Because there were no cars on the roads because of
parades in imminent hours ahead when I did spot the police I almost wished they
asked me to get off the road saying 'no running on the road please'. I would
have answered them with a smile about 'if others allowed to walk on the road today,
then why can't I run on it?'

Anyhow’s the run went very well despite being shunned away
from the owners of Seaforde butterfly garden when I accidently ran around their
grounds looking for a few extra miles to make up before heading back into Newcastle
where I was staying with my folks. As I headed back I made a diversion into the
lovely Murlough beach for a quick run around it, then back to Newcastle which
rounded it up to 24 miles in total. I was happy that I could do the long miles
ok without any major probs. The day after I did 13 miles based on the theory of
‘running on tired’ legs.

On the day of the event it got off to a good start with only 25 or
so folk taking part.

We joked about the lack of toilets and the grief we got
using the local hotel toilets with staff having to let us in the locked front
door each time. I met Martin again and
he was his usual cheery self.We ran
around the Titanic quarter a bit to make up the extra 1 k before starting to
head towards our midway destination just beyond Ballywalter. The route was
trail mostly on trail paths with some road running.

The weather of the day was fine and all was good. I wondered
whether I would need a headlamp for the final 25 k or so and whether I would
meet cut off times etc but here I was and there was no turning back. I settled
into my rhythm well and before long I knew it the miles were creeping up which
brought a smile to my face.

As I settled in to my stride my pacing matched another fella
in white t - shirt and it seemed we both took turns sitting on the front of
each other.

When we approached Holywood he eventually dropped me as he picked
up his pace. After this I was on my own. During this time I recall having to
make a pit stop and do what ‘bears do in the woods’ – you know what I mean (thankfully
I had brought along some toilet roll, just in case).

A bit later I caught a couple both in yellow running for a
charity. Their pace was good and steady and for a few miles a debated with
myself whether I should overtake them or just sit behind. I knew it was going
to be a long day and there was no point in pushing myself when I didn’t need
to. So I decided to sit behind them and just go with the flow.

Next thing I knew we had crept up to the 26.2 mile mark as
we approached the half way mark. I grabbed some food and drink from my drop bag,
re-stocked my vest and tried not to spend too much time chatting to folks
before the off. I think we had at least half hour before the cut off time. Paul
the volunteer hurried out the couple that had decided to sit down and do some
stretching. I asked him about the headtorch issue but he said I should be ok so
that consoled me a bit. I began running again homeward bound retracing the
route we came in.

I held off the other two for a while before they overtook me
and I got dropped soon after as they disappeared into the distance. Eventually
I was on my own with no one I could see in front or behind me.

These times when out in a race are a bit weary in case you
miss a turn or are tempted to stop for a while - if others are about you are
encouraged to keep up your momentum and you don’t need to think to much about
focusing on the trailpath, just follow the person in front. The trail I took
bought me into a caravan park (which I didn’t encounter on the way out) and I
got a bit lost I ran into the centre of it before joining the outer trail where
I saw some other runners thankfully. By this stage the other folk taking part
in the marathon and challenge walk of the day were on the out as well on the
trail route so it was a bit busier with regular passer by egging me on.

At this stage I After this as I had done over 30 miles I
needed to draw a lot more mental strength to carry me on so I focused on
reaching Donaghadee and subsequently Bangor, essentially to break down the
remaining stages of the day. I tried to break down the remainder of the race
into small chunks. If I could reach Donaghadee and then Bangor I knew that
Belfast was my final stop and hopefully no cut offs to worry about or death
march walk would be hitting me to early.

As I approached Ballyholme I reverted to walk runs.
Thankfully at this stage I met Kevin, another runner from Dublin. Kevin is a
very enthusiastic guy who has taken part in loads of marathons and had
travelled all over Ireland, sleeps in his van, gets up and runs. He had some
amazing stories to tell and was such a great guy. He helped me forget my pains
and aches and we eventually ended up running together for the rest of the day.
We shared in our running experiences as we ran and walked together as we ticked
off the remaining miles.

Later in the day as we approached Holywood I got another
welcome surprise with my brother Stephen who had come. This was a complete
surprise as I had not given him any idea of where I would be at any time and
told him that I didn’t want to trouble him coming out on the day; but as usual
he is very supportive. Me and Kevin joked with Stephen that we needed to walk
most of the last part of the run because we had just run two marathons, so we
had a good excuse to mostly walk the last part.

As we approached the harbour estate part of the outskirts of
Titanic quarter my chest was a bit tight when running sometimes. I thing this
was because of the recent smoking periods I go on and off of. Thankfully Kevin didn’t push me too hard and suggested going
lamppost to lamppost alternately walk/ running at times. Toward Titanic final
few kilometres Kevin happened to mention that he had an urge for ice cream. A
wee while later Stephen cycled on ahead of us and disappeared. Shortly later he
cycled back and pulled out two proper thick milk ice creams. Me and Kevin's
face lit up and these were a welcome surprise. This was very thoughtful of
Stephen, a great one man support crew.

Soon after we entered the final few corners and ran in
together to the finish with beaming smiles. An amazing day, great company and
an experience I will never forget!

In my goodie bag after the Titanic Ultra I noticed a flyer
leaflet for a new 26 Extreme event being held in Tollymore Forest.

After a while I decided this would be my next race before the end of the year.

The weeks leading up to Tollymore I hadn’t been doing my
weekly runs as regular. I did my weekend runs ok but I was to lazy and not really
motivated with the weekly runs. I ideally would do weekday runs first thing in
morn but recently it has been raining a hell of a lot (no excuse really).

On my birthday mid October I remember thinking about the
year that was coming to an end and the type of events I had focused on in 2014.
Here I was on a Friday night passing my 38th birthday thinking of my training
run tomorrow of 31 miles to do. Hard to believe I thought I could do this kind
of distance I thought on a training run (although not my longest training run
of 43 miles before Titanic). The last 4 yrs all I had focused on was triathlons
and here I was happy in 2014 focusing purely on running only…but running long;
and boy was I loving it, especially the trails.

At the start of November I did a really good 20 mile run
through the Mournes which was a last minute confidence booster before the big
day. I went from Tullybrannigan, through Tollymore Forest entering the Mournes
via Trassey Track. After this went through BrandyPad
to Hares Gap. I intended to head off the track after Commedagh before you hit
Donard, but due to unfamilarity of the route and as it was a bit misty I ran a
little bit past Donard. On this track I thankfully met a few walkers who
pointed out a small off track trail which led me to the saddle between
Commedagh and Donard. After this it was plain sailing down the familiar
'tourist' trail from Slieve Donard wall into Donard Forest. I needed still to
make it up to 20 miles so I used some up and down trails around the forest
until I reached the required 20 miles need for my training plan for that day.
As it turned out my elevation 1200 metres for that session which I was really
pleased with. The Tollymore event was going to be over 1500 metres so I really
needed some elevation training. After doing this run I felt reasonably good and
bursting at the seems to get going for upcoming race.

Unfortunately though a week before the race I got a bad tummy bug which lasted
a few days. I lost some appetite and had a sore throat and slight cough 2 days
before the event. Thankfully tummy bug cleared just in time and the last couple of days
I was eating loads to make up for recent illness.

Going into this event the distance I wasn’t overly nervous. I knew I could cover the milage ok but the level of elevation was my
main concern. I knew would be tough. Mourne Ultra I suppose was the hardest of
the 3 ultras this year bearing in mind the terrain being technical and the most
elevation 2250 m. I know that Titanic was longer, but the good point of it was
that it was reasonably flat throughout.

The night before Tollymore I had stayed in Newcastle at my
folks house and had my usual Lloyd Grossman pasta sauce jar with generous
helping of pasta and some garlic bread. In the morn I grabbed some porridge,
muffins and a banana to set me up for the day. Tollymore Forest Park was 2
minutes away which was very handy and I arrived and registered with little to
no anxiety issues to deal with. After a few chats with some folk we set off and
I settled in.

The route itself was 3 laps of 13 miles. One of the
organisers had said this was the first year of this event and he thought it
quite possibly be the hardest event of the various running events they host
throughout the year. When I heard this I thought that it was important to get
over the first lap to assess how hard the elevation would be and to judge my
pace from there on.

As always I just went on a comfortable running pace the
first few miles. As the terrain changed with slight undulations I kept an eye
on my Garmin Fenix 2 watch showing the total elevation achieved. It appeared as
the miles passed that the harder climbing would be towards the latter part of
the lap. I decided as it was going to be a long day that I would walk the hills
and run the rest. This would be my strategy.

As the more severe hills came and passed I eventually passed
the first lap (where our drop bags were kept). The trails despite a lot of rain
recently were in good condition. Fair enough, at stages I got pretty wet feet
and the odd stone in my shoes but things were going pretty well.

There would be no point in exhausting myself on the hills so
I walked the steeper ones. For nutrition I had tracker bars and nutrigrain bars
in my Ultimate Direction Backpack Vest. Hydration wise I had a tin of diet coke
in one with a tin of DrPepper in the other bottle. Each
time they were a quarter remaining I refilled at a water station and I
continued on ok. I had gels as well but ended up only using a couple of them
when I felt the blood sugar levels a bit low.

Weather wise for the day it was pretty bad. Three quarter of
the time it rained. Sometimes pretty heavy and I debated weather I should use a
sun visor to keep the rain hitting the face which was slightly annoying. I had
my rain jacket in my drop back but between my thermal vest, t shirt arm warmers
and gloves I got by pretty ok.

After the first lap I met up with a good friend Emma from
Dundalk that I met at the Mourne Ultra. Me and Emma also got chatting to fellow
runner Mark who had also run the Mourne Ultra. The three of us later we
separated and went our own separate paces as the miles grew on towards the last
lap.

At the start of the third lap Emma set off with ease ahead
of me to finish third female runner of the day. Also on the last lap I got chatting with a girl I met Julie from Omagh who was taking part in the Marathon distance. As we got talking about trail running
etc I found out she enjoyed obstacle course runs and she knew Keith from Dungannon who I have known through the
triathlons I have done the last few years. We agreed it was important to get
out in the fresh air and enjoy the fun and banter of so many new and exiting
new sporting activities nowadays. Apart
from Julie I saw very few other
runners from the marathon/half and 10k runs that were also being held on the
same day.

As we approached the last few miles our pace had slowed. As
we entered Tollymore Forest Car Parkfinish I
noticed people cheering Julie on so I let her run on a bit and smile and get
some photos etc as she finished.

I then finished just after her feeling happy
and thankfully not too exhausted as I had done on previous event.

Overall I once again really enjoyed this day. It was well
organised and the route is a good test for doing an ultra with a bit of
elevation thrown in for good measure. The only complaint I would have would be
the weather, but even dispite this the smiles and company shared more than made
up for it. A fun day had by all.

Tollymore Finish time - 7hrs 24mins. Av pace 11.20.

Since the event I have tried to think about what to focus on
next year, whether to go back to triathlons after a year out or continue my
running adventures in 2015.

I like the idea of making up my own challenge event also. I
have some friends that just do their own homemade event. Something to think
about anyway between now and next year. We will see what happens.

As I finish this entry today I noticed I got a black
toenail. Not sure if I can claim its cause of the running a lot or just injury
because of weekly footie, but its cool looking anyway.

Saturday, 28 June 2014

At the start of April I got some type of chest infection or
something for a couple of weeks. It felt a bit different than previous
respiratory probs I’ve had in the past and after google self-diagnosing myself
I thought it might be exercise induced asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD). This got me pretty worried as I was aware I was up until
recently a smoker.

But when I checked my training I had been out on two
back to back long cycle rides (70 miler followed by a 60 miler) and I hadn’t worn
any thermal vests (later bought after this). The conditions on the rides were
wet and windy. The doc later said it was probably a viral infection and sent me
on my merry way with an inhaler which I used only a couple of times. I backed
down on the training only doing one run a week and waited 3 weeks before
getting back on the bike.

By this stage I was about to hit the last few taper days for
the marathon and thankfully the infection cleared up. I was disappointed that I
couldn’t do all the rides and runs according to my training plan but thankfully
I was reasonably experienced by now to know that I had a lot of ‘base’ training
under my belt.

Belfast Marathon 2014

In the weeks leading up to the marathon I physically felt
fit (apart from the viral infection) and the odd time would get long training
sessions of same distance at almost the same time - even within a couple
minutes difference over 20 miles, however the pace per mile reading each time
was rarely showing my time was improving to hopefully beat my last marathon
time of 4.07 (at one point I predicted a marathon time of 4.15).

I decided that I wasn’t going to worry too much about this. My goal was that if I could beat my PB time I would, but that it was ok if I didn’t; after
all, my main training objective this year was training for longer distance
running on trails and also for multi day cycling event upcoming.
Last
year I had to concede similarly in the knowledge that my training was to be
more focused on full distance triathlon, not to get a PB on the marathon which
I think due to lack of running resulted in last year’s 4.07 time.

Day of Marathon.

The day itself

Upon arrival at the starting line there was a bit of rain
but apart from that the weather for the day wasn’t too bad. At times we got a
bit of strong winds by the coastline but nothing out of the ordinary.
Thankfully this was my sixth marathon and I think experience counts for a lot.
I noticed that I wasn’t as anxious as before and I was basically going into
this event just like another weekend long run, just this one was going to be
longer than a weekend run. I had a bit of a niggle injury on my knee so I took
the preventive step and wore a knee strapping just in case it got worse and
gave me more trouble.

Because I’m writing this blog entry almost 2 months after
the marathon apologies for not remembering too much about the run itself but I
don’t recall any dramas or issues which were much different than previous
times. I thankfully didn’t have to go to the toilet along the way which saved
me a bit of time.

I also sat on the heels of a steady runner on the last third
of the race which I think encouraged me to keep up the pace. I wore a pace band
on my arm for 3.50 time which gave splits for what time I should be at certain
mile markers. I also was using my virtual partner on my Garmin. I looked at the
odd time but thankfully I wasn’t too stressed out if I was falling behind at
any time. My attitude was just to enjoy the race and if I could push the pace
towards the end to beat my 4.07, I would do. As I said earlier, I latched onto
a steady runner towards the 18 mile mark and I managed to hold onto him until
about the 23 mile mark when he dropped me.

From then on I tried to maintain
pace with whoever I could along the way until Ormeau Road. When you get to
these last couple of miles the crowds are out in force to egg you on and the adrenalin is carrying
you on until the end.

Unfortunately my bro Stephen who normally
paces me the last few miles was busy today and couldn’t make it but when I
passed the place where he would wait at Laganside I could almost see his smiling face and I
remembered all the usual words of encouragement he would give me on those last
few miles, so I replayed them in my head almost as if he was running beside me.
Stephen got a chance to make it up to me as he went to
support me at a later run in the Mournes.

As I ran down Ravenhill Road I checked my garmin and I knew
that I should be under the 4 hr mark which was my second goal. I pressed on
hard as I could and tried my best to get as close to the 3.55 PB I attained a
few yrs back in 2012. I didn’t feel as fast as I did on that day but I felt
pretty good none the less.
As I passed over the finish line I saw the timer above read 3.54.20. I did it
yippee! Even better that that of 3.55. The icing on the cake when I later got the
official results was that my official time was 3.51.11; I had beat my 2012 time
by 4 minutes. I guess the early start to my run training over the winter had
finally paid off in the end. Happy days!

Makeshift Training Plan

After the marathon I continued my training plan for the Long Way Home
/ Ultramarathon

Typically the nature of a training plan for multi day
sportive cycle would be mid range cycles weekdays and back to back long rides
at weekend. The same would apply for doing an ultra run. The reason being is that
you get into training on ‘tired legs’ by Sunday after a long training session
on Saturday. However my difficulty in trying to make up a training plan was the
fact that both the LWH and MWU were running concurrently, the ultra the week
after the 3 day cycle.
I knew I couldn’t do the ideal two day cycles and two day long runs, so I ended up just doing
one long session of each on Saturday and Sunday.

If I could, I would try to get
a long run in mid week as well but I did this rarely; I did once however in doing a
marathon distance run home from work which was interesting to say the least.

Unfortunately I didn’t do as much weekly commutes by bike to
work as I had originally desired but I knew I had done the Belfast / Dublin Maracycle
a few years back so I felt I should be ok (I hoped!).

The odd time I didn’t get my sessions done but I didn’t overly
worry about it.

More trail running experience / Bad day in the Mournes

In getting ready for the ultra I knew I needed to get some trail
running experience under my belt. As spoken about before my blog I have done
some trail running this year but not very much. It is still very new to me.

I knew I needed some mileage in the Mournes a bit more so I
decided to try to set off early one weekend from Newcastle and set off to make
it to Kilbroney Park - 26 miles. I recently purchased new rain jacket and
hydration pack and also decided to use my existing More Mile trainers that had
proved pretty good when it came to the tougher terrain.

The day didn't go well. I was out over 6 hours and unfortunately I only did 13 miles.

When looking back I went wrong on a number of different
areas. I stopped too often, the weather was awful - windy and
regular showers. Terrain was soggy and I didn’t stick to the Mourne route. For
example when going past Fofanny Dam I trunched through soggy marshland for at
least a half hour were the normal route takes you 10 mins and you would be a
lot dryer on the proper trail. Also because I started quite late in the by
lunchtime I eventually started to run out of daylight later and by 7.30pm I had
to ring my Dad and get him to collect me three quarter of the way there. The
icing on the cake was going pack Rocky Mountain and missing the turn off and
going straight up to another part of the Mourne wall which clearly showed me on
the map I was going the wrong way.

Unfinished Business / Good days training in the Mournes

Despite the fact that so much went wrong that day I was
determined to get back and finish off that part of the route that I got mixed
up on. On a later date that I went back to the area I got lost the previous
time and started from there.

On the day I planned to run, I knew that that a couple of friends from
facebook James and Mickey were out themselves on their own training run doing a 33 miler.
When
I started my run I met up with them as they were running along coincidentally
at the same place. They were just finishing off their 7 mile or so thankfully
it was a bit easier for me to keep up with them and they kindly allowed me to
join them. These Newry lads were great in keeping me right leading the proper
route and chatting along the way. When they finished at KilbroneyPark
it gave me a chance to do the return leg back to my car with my trusty partner
McGregor by myself. All in all, I was pretty pleased I managed toget over the 'unfinished business'. I felt a lot more confident after this run

After this, the training I did a few more cycling runs before the
next event the Long Way Home cycling event. On one of my last training runs I met up briefly with one of the Russian lady's taking part in the World Harmony Run and she allowed me to carry her torch which was nice.

Long Way Home - 29-31 May 2014

The Long Way Home is a charity cycle organised by a new good
friend Paul from Dungannon for Vision for Kids Chrity. The money raised would
help fund projects for children in Africa.

This cycling event was a 3 day cycle around N Ireland with a total of 365 miles altogether. The plan
was to do roughly 140 on the first two days woth 85 miles on the last day. On
the days leading up to the race we had a race briefing in which we were
informed that minimum averabe would be 14 mph.

This was a worry to me as 14 mph average would be a steady rate
for me and to maintain it for 3 days I thought would be tough. Some of the
other riders tried to re-assure me by saying that 14 mph would be easily
maintained if sticking within a group.

Day 1- Dungannon to Belfast-134 mile

The weather for the first day (unlike the next two) turned out dark and drizzly
which wasn’t a great start from Dunfgannon Farmers Mart. When we arrived Paul (event organiser) informed us
all who the group leaders would be -Philip C and Joanne.

As we set off we used our first set of miles to get over the
nerves and gradually started to get to know each other.

The average or 'lowest pace per mile' we were set at was 14
miles an hour and by coming up to the first stop at Newry a couple of the girls
Heather and Sally who were not that experienced and younger that the rest of us
found it a bit tougher so Heather did parts of the ride on the back up bus and
joined our group at intervals as we continued. With the girls doing parts of
the ride we managed to pick up the pace and increase the average to about 15
mph end we felt that it would be good that the girls join us as much as they
felt they could comfortably do in the knowledge that up ahead there would be 3
very long days. Over the course of the next three days Sally did as many
slots she could and when she needed a break would hop on the backup bus with Heather joining her the odd time as well. Both girls for their age and limited experience
achieved so much; it still to this day dumb-founds me how well they did. Fantastic efforts and achievements girls!

Getting Dropped myself

Coming up to the lunch stop at Annalong I was dropped by the
main group. I was struggling to keep up the pace and began to worry about
whether I was strong enough to take on this challenge. Up until then I had been
feeling fine but thankfully it only lasted a few miles and I eventually caught
up with the group when they stopped for lunch. I later realised it was probably
due to low energy levels and the mental battering of the rain I had been
struggling with.

During lunch Paul organised some changes to our group and we
gained two more riders and lost one. The two guys we got were great and would
later prove invaluable. Alan our new leader with David were very experienced
riders, David being the events main bike mechanic expert and strong rider that
tirelessly pushed the girls up those hills and Alan who made the calls and was
probably the funniest and main motivator giving us invaluable enthusiasm at regularly
intervals.

After the slight hills of Newry it was nice to come through
Kilkeel and see the familiar signs of Newcastle then towards the Ards
pinninsula via the Ferry Strangford to Portaferry.

Newcastle Roundabout -

After this it was
enroute to Belfast via Ards stopping off briefy for a bite to eat.

By this time we enjoyed the last few miles up the North
Belfast hills towards Newtownabbey where we were greated by a nice cold tub
bath , massage (sore) and massive lovely meal at the lovely Corrs Corner Hotel.
It was also good to meet at the hotel room a good friend Paul McA I knew from
facebook and Strava (the fitness tracking app). Not to long after this I fast
asleep.

Me and good friend Andrew feeling fresh :-)

A lot of fancy bikes in one room

Day 2 - Belfast to Derry -118 miles

No sooner had we slept than it was day 2 and we were off in
the coastal direction towards Cushendun.

Have to admit the ride from Larne to Cushendun was breath-taking.
I never really have ventured past CarrickfergusCastle in my travels before but the AntrimCoast
road is definitely one of the best roads I have been on the bike. And if you
get it on a good day its even better. I felt I was travelling like on what I would
imagine an Italian coastline would be like. The weather was perfect and the
company I had was amazing. I was in my element!

We were worried as we knew day two was going to be tough on
two counts. Both the fact that we were riding on tired legs and also the fact
that be were hitting the big climbs that day around Torr Head near Cushendall.
Before the event Paul had advised all
riders that when we approach Torr Head there would only be one group that heads
directly up Torr Head. The other two groups - A and B would go the slightly
longer assent through BallypatrickForest.

On the approach to Torr Head all groups stopped at the
Cushendun village feed station and calmed the nerves before the assent. After
stopping for a while the strongest group C went for the Torr Head route and the
other groups went up the slower gradient hill climb. Initially the climb was tough
and I got flashbacks of Sheeps Walk in Bolton although I managed to get into a
rhythm and latched on to the similar pace of Emma, one of the experienced girls
whom had missed the first day ride and was joining us. Although I didn’t match
her pace for all the hills I managed most of the way to be a bit quicker than some of the others.

At the top we stopped for a breather, rehydrate and
congratulated each other as we arrived. It was by this stage pretty warm and we
were feeling the heat.

After the short break we then set off again along the long descent
which felt like it lasted a few miles.

The hill was great and reasonably safe for to pick up some
speed. Me and Rebekah worked together taking turns on the downhill and made a break
from the group and enjoyed the fast pace.
When we finished the hill at
the bottom the three groups joined up again before heading into the Marine
Hotel for lunch on the Ballycastle Road.

Ice Cream Stop

After this we all set off again in our groups with the next
big stop to be Portstewart. Here the groups enjoyed a lovely ice cream .

Alan our leader taking full advantage of the ice cream stop.

By now we were all smiles with knowing that we had the
climbs over and we had done over half of our total journey.

From Portstewart to Derry/Londonderry was comfortable enough
and we arrived at the Best Western / White Horse hotel for a well earned rest.
I remember saying to Alan towards the
later part of the second day that I was feeling so happy and enjoying cycling
by this stage that I didn’t want to stop cycling.
And it felt like I wasn’t the
only one. A lot of people were in such good moods and it was really infectious
the spirit of the while event and it spread like wildfire. Although yes, we
felt tired and found it tough going at times, we were in a groove and the
camaraderie between riders had really strengthened into a newly formed relationship
in which we really looked out for each other along our journey. We knew each
others strengths and weaknesses and knew by now when someone needed a word of
encouragement or a gentle push up the hill when struggling.

Day 3 - London/Derry to Dungannon - 105 miles

Day 3 we were running on endorphins and adrenalin. Some of
us were more tired than others and took less turns on the front and we needed
to be careful that due to lack of concentration or fatigue we made mistakes
which could lead to a fall or worse.

We knew that we all were feeling a mixture of emotions after
the last few days. We knew we all had worked hard to get where we were and we
knew it was almost over. I think the mood generally was one of a tinge of
sadness that soon it would be all be over but mostly excitement at how well the
event had been going this far and the fact that we knew we should be finished
soon with our friends and family waiting for us all at the finish line.

Once again the weather was good and the roads themselves
were not too tough on the legs thankfully as we watched our cycle computers
clock ever closer to the elusive 365 total. We spoke and joked about if the
route was slightly shorter than hoped we would want to do an extra few to
ensure we made it to the grand total of 365.

We stopped at the Killykevlin Hotel for half an hour and met up with the
other teams who appeared in happy and relaxed mood just like ourselves. Everywhere
you looked all you could see around the car park were happy smiling faces -
despite the toll it was having on some!
Some riders were becoming succumb to injury’s
with the strap tape being taken out of the van quite a few times for some
hobbling riders as they munched down all assortments of food and drink.

At the lunch stop at Carmichael Hall in Augher we stopped
off for a feast of grub put on display for us all and then joined riders who
were taking part in the single day event doing a short cycle distance at the
end.

Not long to go now :-)

Thankfully the last part of the ride went very smoothly as
we all began to slow our pace towards the end. Then we saw the wonderful sight
of the 'Dungannon' roadsign up ahead. Our faces beamed and be cheered and
savoured those last miles

The plan was towards the last number of miles the three main
groups would join together and group onto the single day event group before
going in the last mile into Farmers Mart in Granville at the start/finish.
Everything went very well as planned by Paul
and we rode in together to the finish.

At the finish at Farmers Mart the riders were greeted by friends and
family.

There were probably a couple of hundred people at
least and Transport minister Danny Kennedy who is Rebekah's boss was there to
present the trophy’s.

It was really great to see the family and finish off with
the lovely barbeque and family friendly party atmosphere. There was music,
prayers, awards, photos etc.

Aimee wanting Daddy's food

My friend Gareth and his family

The Long
Way Home I hope becomes an annual event one f which I hope to do again. The
people I met were so warm and welcoming and although I didn’t spend much time
with them I regard each and every one as good friends.

I will miss the whole team at Long Way Home but especially my Group, Group A or as we called ourselves, the A Team

Mourne Ultra

Some people have asked me why did it. I never really had an
answer for them but now that I think about it, it probably is due to my experience
I had when I did the marathon challenge walk in 2011. When I took part in the
walk I remember well being inspired by seeing some runners with the word ‘ultra’
on their race number pinned to their vest. I simply wanted to be one of those ‘crazies’
one day.

The day itself (1 week after the 365 cycle trip!)

When I arrrived at 4.40am the on the day I hoped I was in
time for the earlier 5am start (1 hr before main start time of 6).
Unfortunately I couldn’t find the registration tent for a while and had also to
do a emergency number 2 behind some trees as the Park toilets were locked. I
eventually found the tent at 5.15am but
the officials said I needed to wait until 6 to start with the rest of the
group. The rain was belting down hard at this time and we all hid in the tent
until eventually it became more subdue just before 6.

At the 6am start I saw Craig Loyd coming in to the start/finish line. I later found out he had run the 52 miles during the night. He
wanted to continue another 52 with the main runners starting with us. As it
turned out Craig went on to complete a total of 75 miles before having to
finish due to the time cut off's . He later said that if it wasn’t for the cut
off times he would have liked to continue. If you ever are thinking of running
in the Mournes, Craig does a decent video on youtube of a training run.

And we're off!

After a good few mile into the hilly Kilbroney assent I
ended up trying to sit behind a small group. I couldn’t keep the pace of Mickey
and James who I had shared a training run before the big day.

I stayed with this group for a while in which I met and
chatted at intervals to the local marathon legend that is Peter Ferris. I know
that Peter has done in excess of 100
marathons and even prior this event he had done 3 marathons within a week
before the ultra - no mean feat. I also got chatting to a girl Emma who was
going along roughly the same pace so we ran together from around Rocky Mountain
/ Tornamrock Pass onwards which is just after Kilbroney Park.

I knew that I needed the company and thankfully Emma was happy enough to allow me to run with her. I
later found out from her running experience that she was a 3.30 marathon pace
so I knew that she was fast and with her optimistic and cheery mood, she
tackled hills and rough patches with ease. She got a nice surprise as her
husband from very early on into the race met up with her to cheer her on at the
Hen Mountain feed station and some others after this.

Before we approached the Rocky mountains I decided to ditch
my coat, armbands and gloves at the first aid station. Thankfully the
volunteers agreed to mind them. Unfortunately after this the odd time it did
rain but not too bad and I was glad that I lost that extra bit of weight I carried.

After Hen mountain towards SpelgaPass
we struggled to find some of the trails and thankfully by this a fellow
runner (Andrew) was just up ahead of
us and he kept us right through some of the bits. It was foggy and misty by
this stage but thankfully we had said goodbye to the rain and many midges flies
that were eating us through Kilbroney hills before the trail opened into the
wider mountain landscape.

After Spelga Pass me, Peter and Emma moved on ahead with
Andrew behind us by about a minute. At Spelga aid station I was finding it
tough with quite a few small stones in my shoe so I stopped for a while whilst
the others moved on ahead.

After a couple of minutes I set off again on my own and later
ran with Peter past Fofanny Dam. Emma had definitely stepped up a gear moving
up the incline on Slievenaman Road and we commented that if Emma pushes herself
too much in the first half she may blow up later. She seemed happy enough on
her own.

After Fofanny Dam me and Peter caught up on Emma and
together we pressed on towards Tollymore Forest. Along the way we met up with a
couple of guys and chatted to them about their experiences in ultrarunnning.
Together they had done a few and were building up point towards re-attempting
the Mont Blanc UTMB. They had done one other ultra already which gained them 2
points, the Mourne would give them 2 and they were doing a hundred miler in
England which would give them 4 points. With 8 points they could seek
registration for the UTMB.

I managed to stay with them for a while as we entered
Tollymore Forest however after leaving here and moving through the tough
terrain towards Donard Forest I couldn’t keep up and they eventually took the
lead and the three of them carried on. After this I was on my own for a while
seeing the odd other runner but mostly on my own. By this stage some of the
faster elite level guys had started to come back and were passing me one by one on their way back to Kilbroney.

The weather by now was cool and misty and to be honest I
was starting to really struggle mentally and a bit physically. I was looking forward to getting to the half
way point at Donard Park to give me that mental boost. I wasn’t familiar with this area I was running, and I didn't have a clue how far it was to get to Donard Park.

I later found out that the route actually swings around
Donard Forest and doubles back before finally reaching the Park, just to make
up the milage of 26 miles. Finally I emerged from a small unknown trail which
seems to dart from mid section Granite Trail to the main 'touristy' trail going
up the river edge. When I emerged to the river I knew I was very close to half
way point and where my drop bag was. Finally I reached Donard Park half way point.

Stuff I didn't end up using -

At the drop station I refuelled with liquids and restocked
my hydration bag with more snack bars and gels and set off again. I was
contemplating changing socks and into my Sausony trainers however I felt like
my moremile trainers were very grippy and were serving me well in the muddy
conditions. If it was a dry day I probably would have changed. After setting
off I saw Peter and some others make
their way in to the aid station and I felt a bit good knowing that I wasn’t
completely the last person in the race.

The next few miles getting up the hilly conditions to
Tollymore were pretty tough and a bit demoralizing however I tried the old mind
games by thinking to myself that at least I had done half the distance. My legs
although sore were not too bad and I had no injuries thus far.

Going through Tollymore Forest again got a bit lonely and
now that there was less people about I had to concentrate more on where I was
going and make sure for the rest of the race that I didn’t miss a turn.
The
good thing about running behind someone in addition to company is that u can
switch off your thinking and just concentrate on powering your legs.
Unfortunately with no one about I had to use the concentration a bit more on my
footfall and where to run. The odd time for the next while I let doubts creep
into my head which wasn’t helpful I made things more difficult.

Due to my worries at this stage in case I slowed down with a few walks in between hoping for a fellow runner to catch up and then run on and set off again.
If there was someone close behind me running at least I hoped if I missed a turn the guy behind me might shout out for me to
stop and turn around again. I remember when I did the walk a few years ago the
signing for the route was pretty poor, but all in all I think this year was a
lot better – but I was still a bit worried at his stage so I waited with the
hope that other runners would soon catch me so I could run with them. Eventally
a couple started to catch up and I began running again.

It was around Tollymore Forest that I got a slight injury
with a cramp in my leg thigh. A guy who had caught up with me encouraged me to
keep going if I wanted to meet the cut off time at SpelgaDam.
I thought he said 'its 2.30' cut off time. He said 'you might make it but I
don't think I will; I might have to drop out there'. When I heard this it
frightened me and I decided to try running on the leg despite the cramp,

As I took off running faster that I was running earlier I
got the odd lock up on my leg but I was happy that I could still run to a
certain degree. The guy behind me continued running but slower than me. After a while I
started to slow down and the guy caught up with me just around the MeelmoreLodge
area. We began chatting and he introduced himself as Andrew.
Andrew was a guy I had met with Emma on the way out and he had guided us
through some of the areas which didn’t have evident trailpaths so that me and Emma
could follow him as he guided us through them. Andrew had really helped through those parts of the route.

When Andrew sarted running with me now we began sharing
experiences and started to talk about our mutual worries about meeting the cut
off time. Andrew said he felt judging
by the distance we might make it just about the 3.30 time. I said I thought he
had said 2.30 earlier! He laughed and I breathed a big sigh of relief knowing
that we had another hour to make it to the cut off time of 3.30 at Spelga.

Slowing down / Cut off time worries -

Sadly by this stage we were walking mostly and being caught
up and being overtaken by the many Mourne Marathon runners that were out. The terrain
was poor without trails at this part and it was fairly uneven and soggy. Every so
often my feet would be sucked up in the marshland.

One of the Marathon runner that passed said 'a fellow
ultimate direction backpack runner' as he turned to me as he passed he said -
I' I know your face' then he ran on. About 50 metres later I heard a faint
shout 'PhilipWard' as he turned. I said 'yes,
and your Aaron' to which he smiled and
acknowledged me. Aaron I knew from
facebook and moreso Strava fitness apps. I knew he was an experienced trail and
fell runner and he was running the tough terrain as if it was a road run - good
going Aaron.

After cutting across the side of Slieve Meelmore we finally
could make out Fofanny Dam in the distance. I knew that I was familiar with the
route from there on in. Unfortunately we continued spend much of our time
walking with only occasional running so we tried where we could to pick up the
pace and run a little. At times I would egg Andrew on and at times he would do
the same with me. Little did I realise that working together from here on in
would be pretty important to avoid either of us from slowing the overall pace
for the rest of race.

As we crossed Fofanny Dam we made our way up the steep trail
onto the main road in the thinking that the road although still ascending would
be a bit of a break for us. As it turned out we didn't get a break. This road
part was looking very long uphill and my feet were really felt sore on the hard
tarmac. The weather had picked up by this stage also and the heat was probably
about 15 degrees but with being out all day and the mild dehydration it felt
like about 25.

We pressed onward and upward with the time running out. Finally
we descended onto the Kilkeel road which was a little easier as it was downhill
on the approach to Spelga Dam. As we approached the time was running out before cut off time and by
the time we reached the aid station we literally had about 5 minutes to spare
before the cut off.
Andrew said we could rest there for a while as we had made.
I replied to Aaron what if the official time point was the chipped mat point
which was just after the aid station at the top of Spelga Pass? We weren’t sure
so we decided that we wouldn’t wait to long before covering that next half mile
to the chipped mat.

At the aid station I got a big surprise when I saw a big
smiling face that of my brother Stephen. He really gave me a lift when he
helped me get some stuff and gave me some words of encouragement to keep going.
Shortly after we were off again and made it past the chipped mat. We kept
pondering whether at some point we were going to be told we missed a cut off
point and ‘pulled off’ the course but thankfully no one ever did so we thought
we so far were doing just about ok.

As we came back into the valley area of Hen Mountain and the
Rocky River trail path our spirits lifted. The sun was in full swing and we
were able to more often get into a gentle jog / walk at intervals on the trail.
The trail itself although made up of small stone and a bit sore on the feet it
was wide enough to allow the marathon runners in small groups to pass us and encourage
each other along the way. By this stage we conceded to each other that we
‘might’ not meet the official cut off time of 6.30pm, but even if we didn’t we
still wanted to complete the course and see that in an achievement in itself.

Nutrition for the race

With regards to nutrition for the race every aid station I
topped up my water and either took the optional bananas or fruit cake. There
wasn’t a great selection but my trusty optional extras in my backpack (tracker/nutrigrain/protein
bars/gels) were giving me a tasty alternative if I wanted and so far my
nutrition and hydration plans had worked ok. Towards the closer stages of the
end I struggled to eat as I wasn’t really hungry for some reason so I had to
force myself to eat to ensure there was no bonking later.

Almost there / Mind games

After this trail we crossed the marshy land approaching
Tornamrock and ascended. I joked with Andrew that I liked to play mind tricks
with myself. Up until the 26 mile mark I had been thinking that was only ‘half’
my marathon run (thus 13 miles) and tried to think I was only doing a
‘marathon’ today (26.2 miles) not an ‘ultra’ marathon which was in fact the
correct distance. I told him if I think that if I let my legs know that I am
actually doing 52 miles my legs would try to give in and stop running. I told
Andrew my other mental trick I was thinking was that the assent up past
Tornamrock was the finish of the race. After this point it was mostly downhill
(ie Tornamrock was the end of the ‘hard’ points of the race). As we crossed
Tornamrock hill we chatted to other friends from facebook I know Martin and
Oggie – both experienced marathon and ultra runners. Both very enthusiastic and
their happy spirit had a ripple effect on fellow runners they encountered along
the way.

We descended and approached the aid station before Kilbroney
Park. There again I met up with my brother and thankfully he agreed to take the
items I had left earlier in the day at this aid station – the coat, arm warmers
and the gloves. Once again Stephen did a fantastic job of asking me what I
needed at the aid station and keeping me right. Andrew was keen to keep moving
as he was conscious of the final cut off time so I pressed on and caught up
with him after briefly chatting to my bro.

The trails through Kilbroney Forest were pretty good and by
this stage me and Andrew were pretty tired and joking how we hated running,
trail running and the Mounes. Obviously this was only joking and we talked
about how great a day it was and our fears and concerns throughout the day. The
time was by this stage after 6pm and we had hoped we could make it by 6.30pm
but we felt that even if we didn’t make it we would both come away knowing that
we did good – medal or not received.

At the extra final aid station which was manned by an
elderly couple we thanked them profusely for their helping on the day by
volunteering and made our way for the steep descent into the Park. Towards the
end of the race my garmin was showing that we hadn’t quite done the distance. Andrew
reckoned it was wrong and I cursed the fact I had left it on autopause function
(this causes gamin to stop distance counting when any walking occurs ) Andrew
said his garmin had just ran our of battery about 40 miles into the event and I
had only started mine at the 26 mile mark. On the last mile I said to Andrew
and a few of the marathon runners that we had to make up extra miles I think to
which they gave me a few choice words which I won’t share here , ha ha!

Soon thereafter we entered the large main field to which we
could see at the bottom laid out the finish line and the large crowd. I hi fi’d
Andrew. We thanked one another for helping each other through the tough spots of
the race. Our faces lit up with glee as we forgot our aches and pains and
picked up the pace to cross the finish line on an epic day.

No sooner had we both got our medals we were pointed in the
direction of our free non-alcoholic beer – which tasted great after our long
day.

Stephen was faithfully there to applaud and great me which
was a welcome sight as I said goodbye to my running partner Andrew.

Poor Stephen had his work cut out as he was soon running errands
for me getting drop bags and taking some pics of me after the finish.

When I got home thankfully little nephew Matthew helped hose me down as I was pretty mucky.

My soggy hobbit feet afterwards.

Post events

Following the two events I got some new unusual injuries I
have never had before. After the cycling I got a slight numbness on front lower
part of my left foot. Almost a tingly sensation that felt as if it was cold,
although warm to touch. Thankfully it cleared up in couple of weeks.

Also due to lack of hill training and overuse cause during
the Mourne Ultra I got a touch of extensor tendon pain of the front top of
feet. I didn’t really do the proper RICE treatment I just really stopped any
running or football and did a bit of barefoot walking around the house to help
rehabilitate the tendons.

My mum saw this headline about the Mourne Ultra in her local paper and thought it was about me (pity as it was about an elite - not an average joe like myself)

Back into training

After these last few weeks of basically ‘sitting about on my
bum’ Im good to go. The other day I did a 3 miler run and felt the pain in my
legs the next day, ha ha! Seriously need to get back into training so I have
thankfully written up a new training plan for upcoming Titanic 102 k run in
September.Can’t wait to get back into
regular running again.

That’s it for now. I know a bit long winded this entry but
it’s been a long time. Until next time…..